French Olympian Julia Simons has ruffled feathers with a gesture after she bagged gold in the women's 15km biathlon, four months after being convicted on fraud charges.
Biathlete Simon received a three-month suspended sentence and a €15,000 fine in October last year after it was found that the 2026 Winter Olympics athlete, 29, spent more than €2,000 between 2021 and 2022 using the credit card details of her teammate, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, also 29.
Simon went on to win gold at the Winter Olympics this week in the women's 15km biathlon, while Braisaz-Bouchet finished 80th.
The Biathlon, for those who might be unfamiliar, is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It developed from the sport of military patrol, which began in 19th-century Scandinavia and originated in ski warfare.
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Lou Jeanmonnot, also from Team France, bagged the silver medal in the event at this year's games.
Simon caused controversy after her win, raising her finger to her lips in what appeared to be a shushing gesture as she crossed the finish line.
She told reporters, including The Guardian: “I put my finger to my mouth, it was for one person, and they know who, because we had a talk. But I won’t tell any more about it, it’s over.”“I’m just focused on my sport, it is the thing I love the most, I had a goal, and I put all my energy into it. Today was the perfect result for me, it feels like a dream.”
The French Ski Federation slapped her with a six-month ban following her conviction, but five months of it were suspended, meaning she could still compete in the Winter Olympics.
Simon denied carrying out the fraud and theft, insisting she herself was a victim of identity theft, but she eventually admitted guilt last year, after photos of the credit card were found on her phone.
Simon said: "I confess the accusations, but I don’t remember committing them, it’s like a blackout," and called her actions 'incomprehensible'.
She also said she was 'working with a psychologist to understand what happened'.
Sadly, the victim of the crime, Braisaz-Bouchet, also received a lot of abuse, the Guardian reported.
She said at the time: "It has made a lot of people angry. The story came out in 2023, after Julia Simon’s great season, and for many people, I was the troublemaker."
There was controversy elsewhere on the slopes today, with two cross-country skiers disqualified after a banned substance was detected on their skis.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) confirmed that South Korean athletes Han Dasom and Lee Eui-jin had been axed from the women's classic sprint in the qualification round.
Their skis 'tested positive for fluor' AKA fluorinated ski wax, which has been banned since the 2023-24 season.
Topics: Sport, Winter Olympics
Jen Thomas